Trump’s economic troubles put Republicans on the defensive
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s full-speed-ahead approach to making radical change has forced his allies to fight from a defensive posture — explaining his plans after they have been executed — and raised alarms in his Republican Party that it could all end in a wreck.
The concerns are particularly acute when it comes to the economy, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average having lost about 7% of its value this month and many economists projecting either slower growth or a coming recession. Those fears haven’t deterred Trump from continuing to impose tariffs on foes and friends — which figure to raise prices on U.S. consumers — and slash federal government jobs, grants and contracts.
“There are worries,” said a person who has been involved in discussions about the economy with White House officials. Those effects on the markets and the economy are felt immediately, while policies aimed at spurring growth — including cutting taxes and regulations — will take much longer to implement, this person said.
Privately, officials at the White House’s National Economic Council have indicated fears that it could be difficult to rebound quickly from a downturn, two people familiar with internal White House discussions said.
A second person who speaks frequently to administration officials said the White House is trying to take a long view of the economic tremors. But that approach comes with significant risk — both to the economy and to Republicans’ political standing — if the turnaround doesn’t happen. Many of those administration officials think tariffs aren’t sound policy — and won’t ultimately be enacted for any extended period of time — but, this person said, Trump “doesn’t want to talk to them right now.”
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The dark economic clouds are forcing Trump administration officials into the awkward position of explaining why a president who promised to boost the economy simply by winning election now faces falling stock prices, job losses that he incurred with unilateral cuts to government agencies and mounting predictions of a sluggish economy.
“This was always part of the plan,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday on Fox News, perhaps forgetting Trump’s campaign trail promises. “The president is so focused on — not the short term. … He truly wants to fix America.”
That’s a different sentiment from what Trump expressed on the campaign trail as he asked for votes.
“Starting on Day 1 of my new administration, we will end inflation, and we will make America affordable again,” he said at a rally in Saginaw, Michigan, in October.
The messaging complications go beyond his handling of the economy and extend to domestic policies that have been undertaken without Congress.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who summarily fired half her department’s workers this week, said Wednesday on social media that the goal of the action “is not to take away education.”
“It’s to take the bureaucracy out of education,” wrote McMahon, who has been tasked with eliminating the entire Education Department.
The layoffs, affecting thousands of workers, were announced as Trump is pushing Congress to send him a spending bill that would provide tens of billions of dollars for a department that he has said he intends to eliminate entirely.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he thinks Trump has some latitude to pursue trade wars — tariffs have been imposed on Europe, China, Canada and Mexico already this year — but not at a long-term cost.
“Look, this isn’t the way I would do it,” Rounds said of the White House’s tack. “I think they want to try something different than from the previous administration. But they’ve got to show some success fairly quickly.”
Rounds’ Republican colleagues are giving mixed reviews of Trump’s trade policies — some of which have been announced and then quickly reversed in the wake of retaliation by other countries and pushback from domestic businesses.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Trump’s “dramatic tariffs” on Canada and Mexico “could be devastating to the economy,” including in his home state.
“There are stories coming out talking about cars costing $10,000 more. And, of course, we’re worried about bourbon. We want to sell our bourbon. The Canadians are going to block our bourbon,” Paul said. “Now that you add lumber costs to that and steel with tariffs, nobody at home is coming up to me and saying please put tariffs on.”
For Republicans facing re-election next year, omens of economic turmoil aren’t welcome. Trump hasn‘t ruled out a recession.
“That’s not what you want to hear,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is on the ballot in 2026. Still, he added that Trump might be right to set realistic expectations.
“On the one hand, he is being honest, but on the other hand, we have to do everything we can to avoid it for a variety of reasons,” Tillis said. “It doesn’t really spook me. I have more of a concern about the impact that it has on investment and economic growth.”
Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy, newly elected to a safe seat in Montana, said he is fully behind Trump’s economic moves.
“The stock market doesn’t like uncertainty, and right now, people aren’t sure what’s coming next,” Sheehy said. “I think what we’re going to see is — throughout the year, we’re going to see one of the strongest economies in a generation as we reorient the government’s fiscal position as one of strength and growth. … So temporary disruptions, but growth is coming.”
What is confounding to many of Trump’s allies is his decision to inject the uncertainty himself. For decades, including as a presidential candidate, Trump has looked at tariffs as an economic boon for the country. He describes them as a tax on foreign countries. But the cost of the duties, most economists say, are ultimately borne by U.S. businesses and consumers.
Lawmakers, donors and business leaders are concerned about both the tariff policies and the broader economy, said a Trump ally who has heard from all three groups. Those worries are less about the concept of tariffs and more about what appears to be a lack of strategy in brandishing and imposing them, this person said.
But the needle is moving when it comes to trade policy and government cuts that have raised the ire of lawmakers’ constituents, said a Republican strategist whose clients include members of the House and the Senate.
“At some point, members of Congress start going into full freak-out mode,” the strategist said. “I don’t know that that point has been reached on the economy per se. I think it’s been reached on some of the DOGE stuff and some of the tariff stuff.”
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